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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to private schools; amending s. 2
1002.421, F.S.; revising requirements that private 3
schools participating in certain educational 4
scholarship programs must meet; amending s. 1002.394, 5
F.S.; conforming a cross -reference; revising school 6
district obligations under the Family Empowerment 7
Scholarship Program; revising Department of Education 8
obligations; revising private school eligibility and 9
obligations; revising parent and student 10
responsibilities; conforming provisions to changes 11
made by the act; amending s. 1002.395, F.S.; 12
conforming cross-references; revising parent and 13
student responsibilities for participating in the 14
Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program; revising 15
private school eligibility and obligations; revising 16
department obligations; conforming provisions to 17
changes made by the act; amending s. 1002.40, F.S.; 18
revising school district obligations under the Hope 19
Scholarship Program; revising private school 20
eligibility and obligations; revising department 21
obligations; revising parent and student 22
responsibilities; conforming provisions to changes 23
made by the act; amending s. 1008.34, F.S.; requiring 24
certain private schools to be graded according to 25
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specified rules; requiring certain private schools to 26
assess at least 95 percent of eligible students; 27
deleting obsolete language; requiring the department 28
to annually develop, in collaboration with certain 29
private schools, a school report card that certain 30
private schools provide to parents; amending s. 31
1013.37, F.S.; requiring private schools t o comply 32
with the State Requirements for Educational Facilities 33
of the Florida Building Code; providing for injunctive 34
relief under certain circumstances; authorizing 35
attorney fees and costs; providing an effective date. 36
37
Be It Enacted by the Legislatu re of the State of Florida: 38
39
Section 1. Subsection (1), paragraph (a) of subsection 40
(2), and paragraph (b) of subsection (3) of section 1002.421, 41
Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 42
1002.421 State school choice scholarship program 43
accountability and oversight.— 44
(1) PRIVATE SCHOOL ELIGIBILITY AND OBLIGATIONS. —A private 45
school participating in an educational scholarship program 46
established pursuant to this chapter must be a private school as 47
defined in s. 1002.01(2) in this state, be registered, an d be in 48
compliance with all requirements of this section in addition to 49
private school requirements outlined in s. 1002.42, specific 50
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
requirements identified within respective scholarship program 51
laws, and other provisions of Florida law that apply to priva te 52
schools, and must: 53
(a) Comply with the antidiscrimination provisions of 42 54
U.S.C. s. 2000d. 55
(b) Notify the department of its intent to participate in 56
a scholarship program. 57
(c) Notify the department of any change in the school's 58
name, school director, mailing address, or physical location 59
within 15 days after the change. 60
(d) Provide to the department or scholarship -funding 61
organization all documentation required for a student's 62
participation, including the private school's and student's 63
individual fee schedule, and attendance verification as required 64
by the department or scholarship -funding organization, prior to 65
scholarship payment. 66
(e) Annually submit all of the following information to 67
the department: 68
1. The number of and the graduation rat e for scholarship 69
students. 70
2. Scholarship students' results on statewide, 71
standardized assessments. 72
3. The school's annual budget. 73
(f) Annually complete and submit to the department a 74
notarized scholarship compliance statement certifying that all 75
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school employees and contracted personnel with direct student 76
contact have undergone background screening pursuant to s. 77
943.0542 and have met the screening standards as provided in s. 78
435.04. 79
(g)(f) Demonstrate fiscal soundness and accountability by: 80
1. Being in operation for at least 3 school years or 81
obtaining a surety bond or letter of credit for the amount equal 82
to the scholarship funds for any quarter and filing the surety 83
bond or letter of credit with the department. 84
2. Requiring the parent of ea ch scholarship student to 85
personally restrictively endorse the scholarship warrant to the 86
school or to approve a funds transfer before any funds are 87
deposited for a student. The school may not act as attorney in 88
fact for the parent of a scholarship student under the authority 89
of a power of attorney executed by such parent, or under any 90
other authority, to endorse a scholarship warrant or approve a 91
funds transfer on behalf of such parent. 92
(h)(g) Meet applicable state and local health, safety, and 93
welfare laws, codes, and rules, including: 94
1. Firesafety. 95
2. Building safety. 96
(i)(h) Employ or contract with teachers who hold 97
baccalaureate or higher degrees , have at least 3 years of 98
teaching experience in public or private schools, or have 99
special skills, knowledge, or expertise that qualifies them to 100
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provide instruction in subjects taught . 101
(j)(i) Maintain a physical location in this the state at 102
which each student has regular and direct contact with teachers. 103
(k)(j) Publish on the school's website, or provide in a 104
written format, information for parents regarding the school, 105
including, but not limited to, programs, services, and the 106
qualifications of classroom teachers. 107
(l) Provide at least 100 minutes of supervised, safe, and 108
unstructured free-play recess each week, when possible, for 109
students in kindergarten through grade 5 so that there are at 110
least 20 consecutive minutes of free -play recess per day. 111
(m) Require scholarship students to participate in the 112
student assessment program created under s. 1008.22. Students 113
with disabilities for whom the physician or psychologist who 114
issued the diagnosis or the individual education plan team 115
determines that standardized testing is not appropriate are 116
exempt from this requirement. 117
(n) Establish a curriculu m that meets the standards set 118
forth in s. 1003.41. 119
(o)(k) At a minimum, provide the parent of each 120
scholarship student with a written explanation of the student's 121
progress on a quarterly basis. 122
(p)(l) Cooperate with the parent of a student who is 123
required whose parent chooses to participate in the statewide 124
assessments pursuant to s. 1008.22. 125
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(q)(m) Require each employee and contracted personnel with 126
direct student contact, upon employment or engagement to provide 127
services, to undergo a state and nat ional background screening, 128
pursuant to s. 943.0542, by electronically filing with the 129
Department of Law Enforcement a complete set of fingerprints 130
taken by an authorized law enforcement agency or an employee of 131
the private school, a school district, or a private company who 132
is trained to take fingerprints and deny employment to or 133
terminate an employee if he or she fails to meet the screening 134
standards under s. 435.04. Results of the screening shall be 135
provided to the participating private school. For purp oses of 136
this paragraph: 137
1. An "employee or contracted personnel with direct 138
student contact" means any employee or contracted personnel who 139
has unsupervised access to a scholarship student for whom the 140
private school is responsible. 141
2. The costs of fin gerprinting and the background check 142
may shall not be borne by the state. 143
3. Continued employment of an employee or contracted 144
personnel after notification that he or she has failed the 145
background screening under this paragraph shall cause a private 146
school to be ineligible for participation in a scholarship 147
program. 148
4. An employee or contracted personnel holding a valid 149
Florida teaching certificate who has been fingerprinted pursuant 150
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to s. 1012.32 is not required to comply with the provisions of 151
this paragraph. 152
5. All fingerprints submitted to the Department of Law 153
Enforcement as required by this section shall be retained by the 154
Department of Law Enforcement in a manner provided by rule and 155
entered in the statewide automated biometric identification 156
system authorized by s. 943.05(2)(b). Such fingerprints shall 157
thereafter be available for all purposes and uses authorized for 158
arrest fingerprints entered in the statewide automated biometric 159
identification system pursuant to s. 943.051. 160
6. The Department of Law Enforcement shall search all 161
arrest fingerprints received under s. 943.051 against the 162
fingerprints retained in the statewide automated biometric 163
identification system under subparagraph 5. Any arrest record 164
that is identified with the retained fing erprints of a person 165
subject to the background screening under this section shall be 166
reported to the employing school with which the person is 167
affiliated. Each private school participating in a scholarship 168
program is required to participate in this search process by 169
informing the Department of Law Enforcement of any change in the 170
employment or contractual status of its personnel whose 171
fingerprints are retained under subparagraph 5. The Department 172
of Law Enforcement shall adopt a rule setting the amount of t he 173
annual fee to be imposed upon each private school for performing 174
these searches and establishing the procedures for the retention 175
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of private school employee and contracted personnel fingerprints 176
and the dissemination of search results. The fee may be bo rne by 177
the private school or the person fingerprinted. 178
7. Employees and contracted personnel whose fingerprints 179
are not retained by the Department of Law Enforcement under 180
subparagraphs 5. and 6. are required to be refingerprinted and 181
must meet state and national background screening requirements 182
upon reemployment or reengagement to provide services in order 183
to comply with the requirements of this section. 184
8. Every 5 years following employment or engagement to 185
provide services with a private school, emp loyees or contracted 186
personnel required to be screened under this section must meet 187
screening standards under s. 435.04, at which time the private 188
school shall request the Department of Law Enforcement to 189
forward the fingerprints to the Federal Bureau of I nvestigation 190
for national processing. If the fingerprints of employees or 191
contracted personnel are not retained by the Department of Law 192
Enforcement under subparagraph 5., employees and contracted 193
personnel must electronically file a complete set of 194
fingerprints with the Department of Law Enforcement. Upon 195
submission of fingerprints for this purpose, the private school 196
shall request that the Department of Law Enforcement forward the 197
fingerprints to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for national 198
processing, and the fingerprints shall be retained by the 199
Department of Law Enforcement under subparagraph 5. 200
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(r)(n) Adopt policies establishing standards of ethical 201
conduct for educational support employees, instructional 202
personnel, and school administrators. The policies must require 203
all educational support employees, instructional personnel, and 204
school administrators, as defined in s. 1012.01, to complete 205
training on the standards; establish the duty of educational 206
support employees, instructional personnel, and school 207
administrators to report, and procedures for reporting, alleged 208
misconduct by other educational support employees, instructional 209
personnel, and school administrators which affects the health, 210
safety, or welfare of a student; and include an explanat ion of 211
the liability protections provided under ss. 39.203 and 768.095. 212
A private school, or any of its employees, may not enter into a 213
confidentiality agreement regarding terminated or dismissed 214
educational support employees, instructional personnel, or 215
school administrators, or employees, personnel, or 216
administrators who resign in lieu of termination, based in whole 217
or in part on misconduct that affects the health, safety, or 218
welfare of a student, and may not provide the employees, 219
personnel, or administr ators with employment references or 220
discuss the employees', personnel's, or administrators' 221
performance with prospective employers in another educational 222
setting, without disclosing the employees', personnel's, or 223
administrators' misconduct. Any part of an agreement or contract 224
that has the purpose or effect of concealing misconduct by 225
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educational support employees, instructional personnel, or 226
school administrators which affects the health, safety, or 227
welfare of a student is void, is contrary to public poli cy, and 228
may not be enforced. 229
(s)(o) Before employing a person in any position that 230
requires direct contact with students, conduct employment 231
history checks of previous employers, screen the person through 232
use of the screening tools described in s. 1001.1 0(5), and 233
document the findings. If unable to contact a previous employer, 234
the private school must document efforts to contact the 235
employer. The private school may not employ a person whose 236
educator certificate is revoked, who is barred from reapplying 237
for an educator certificate, or who is on the disqualification 238
list maintained by the department pursuant to s. 1001.10(4)(b). 239
(t)(p) Require each owner or operator of the private 240
school, prior to employment or engagement to provide services, 241
to undergo level 2 background screening as provided under 242
chapter 435. For purposes of this paragraph, the term "owner or 243
operator" means an owner, operator, superintendent, or principal 244
of, or a person with equivalent decisionmaking authority over, a 245
private school participating in a scholarship program 246
established pursuant to this chapter. The fingerprints for the 247
background screening must be electronically submitted to the 248
Department of Law Enforcement and may be taken by an authorized 249
law enforcement agency or a priv ate company who is trained to 250
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take fingerprints. However, the complete set of fingerprints of 251
an owner or operator may not be taken by the owner or operator. 252
The owner or operator shall provide a copy of the results of the 253
state and national criminal histo ry check to the Department of 254
Education. The cost of the background screening may be borne by 255
the owner or operator. 256
1. Every 5 years following employment or engagement to 257
provide services, each owner or operator must meet level 2 258
screening standards as described in s. 435.04, at which time the 259
owner or operator shall request the Department of Law 260
Enforcement to forward the fingerprints to the Federal Bureau of 261
Investigation for level 2 screening. If the fingerprints of an 262
owner or operator are not retain ed by the Department of Law 263
Enforcement under subparagraph 2., the owner or operator must 264
electronically file a complete set of fingerprints with the 265
Department of Law Enforcement. Upon submission of fingerprints 266
for this purpose, the owner or operator sha ll request that the 267
Department of Law Enforcement forward the fingerprints to the 268
Federal Bureau of Investigation for level 2 screening, and the 269
fingerprints shall be retained by the Department of Law 270
Enforcement under subparagraph 2. 271
2. Fingerprints sub mitted to the Department of Law 272
Enforcement as required by this paragraph must be retained by 273
the Department of Law Enforcement in a manner approved by rule 274
and entered in the statewide automated biometric identification 275
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system authorized by s. 943.05(2)(b ). The fingerprints must 276
thereafter be available for all purposes and uses authorized for 277
arrest fingerprints entered in the statewide automated biometric 278
identification system pursuant to s. 943.051. 279
3. The Department of Law Enforcement shall search all 280
arrest fingerprints received under s. 943.051 against the 281
fingerprints retained in the statewide automated biometric 282
identification system under subparagraph 2. Any arrest record 283
that is identified with an owner's or operator's fingerprints 284
must be reported to the owner or operator, who must report to 285
the Department of Education. Any costs associated with the 286
search shall be borne by the owner or operator. 287
4. An owner or operator who fails the level 2 background 288
screening is not eligible to participate in a scholarship 289
program under this chapter. 290
5. In addition to the offenses listed in s. 435.04, a 291
person required to undergo background screening pursuant to this 292
part or authorizing statutes may not have an arrest awaiting 293
final disposition for, must n ot have been found guilty of, or 294
entered a plea of nolo contendere to, regardless of 295
adjudication, and must not have been adjudicated delinquent for, 296
and the record must not have been sealed or expunged for, any of 297
the following offenses or any similar off ense of another 298
jurisdiction: 299
a. Any authorizing statutes, if the offense was a felony. 300
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b. This chapter, if the offense was a felony. 301
c. Section 409.920, relating to Medicaid provider fraud. 302
d. Section 409.9201, relating to Medicaid fraud. 303
e. Section 741.28, relating to domestic violence. 304
f. Section 817.034, relating to fraudulent acts through 305
mail, wire, radio, electromagnetic, photoelectronic, or 306
photooptical systems. 307
g. Section 817.234, relating to false and fraudulent 308
insurance claims. 309
h. Section 817.505, relating to patient brokering. 310
i. Section 817.568, relating to criminal use of personal 311
identification information. 312
j. Section 817.60, relating to obtaining a credit card 313
through fraudulent means. 314
k. Section 817.61, relating to fra udulent use of credit 315
cards, if the offense was a felony. 316
l. Section 831.01, relating to forgery. 317
m. Section 831.02, relating to uttering forged 318
instruments. 319
n. Section 831.07, relating to forging bank bills, checks, 320
drafts, or promissory notes. 321
o. Section 831.09, relating to uttering forged bank bills, 322
checks, drafts, or promissory notes. 323
p. Section 831.30, relating to fraud in obtaining 324
medicinal drugs. 325
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q. Section 831.31, relating to the sale, manufacture, 326
delivery, or possession with the inte nt to sell, manufacture, or 327
deliver any counterfeit controlled substance, if the offense was 328
a felony. 329
6. At least 30 calendar days before a transfer of 330
ownership of a private school, the owner or operator shall 331
notify the parent of each scholarship stud ent. 332
7. The owner or operator of a private school that has been 333
deemed ineligible to participate in a scholarship program 334
pursuant to this chapter may not transfer ownership or 335
management authority of the school to a relative in order to 336
participate in a scholarship program as the same school or a new 337
school. For purposes of this subparagraph, the term "relative" 338
means father, mother, son, daughter, grandfather, grandmother, 339
brother, sister, uncle, aunt, cousin, nephew, niece, husband, 340
wife, father-in-law, mother-in-law, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, 341
brother-in-law, sister-in-law, stepfather, stepmother, stepson, 342
stepdaughter, stepbrother, stepsister, half -brother, or half-343
sister. 344
(u)(q) Provide a report from an independent certified 345
public accountant who performs the agreed-upon procedures 346
developed pursuant to s. 1002.395(6)(o) if the private school 347
receives more than $250,000 in funds from scholarships awarded 348
under this chapter in a state fiscal year. A private school 349
subject to this subsection must an nually submit the report by 350
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September 15 to the scholarship -funding organization that 351
awarded the majority of the school's scholarship funds. However, 352
a school that receives more than $250,000 in scholarship funds 353
only through the John M. McKay Scholarship for Students with 354
Disabilities Program pursuant to s. 1002.39 must submit the 355
annual report by September 15 to the department. The agreed -upon 356
procedures must be conducted in accordance with attestation 357
standards established by the American Institute of C ertified 358
Public Accountants. 359
(v)(r) Prohibit education support employees, instructional 360
personnel, and school administrators from employment in any 361
position that requires direct contact with students if the 362
personnel or administrators are ineligible for such employment 363
pursuant to this section or s. 1012.315, or have been terminated 364
or have resigned in lieu of termination for sexual misconduct 365
with a student. If the prohibited conduct occurs subsequent to 366
employment, the private school must report the per son and the 367
disqualifying circumstances to the department for inclusion on 368
the disqualification list maintained pursuant to s. 369
1001.10(4)(b). 370
(w) Comply with the requirements of s. 1008.34. 371
372
The department shall suspend the payment of funds to a private 373
school that knowingly fails to comply with this subsection, and 374
shall prohibit the school from enrolling new scholarship 375
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students, for 1 fiscal year and until the school complies. If a 376
private school fails to meet the requirements of this subsection 377
or has consecutive years of material exceptions listed in the 378
report required under paragraph (u) (q), the commissioner may 379
determine that the private school is ineligible to participate 380
in a scholarship program. 381
(2) DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION OBLIGATIONS. — 382
(a) The Department of Education shall: 383
1. Annually verify the eligibility of private schools that 384
meet the requirements of this section, specific requirements 385
identified within respective scholarship program laws, and other 386
provisions of state law that appl y to private schools. 387
2. Establish a toll -free hotline that provides parents and 388
private schools with information on participation in the 389
scholarship programs. 390
3. Establish a process by which individuals may notify the 391
department of any violation by a parent, private school, or 392
school district of state laws relating to program participation. 393
If the department has reasonable cause to believe that a 394
violation of this section or any rule adopted by the State Board 395
of Education has occurred, it shall conduc t an inquiry or make a 396
referral to the appropriate agency for an investigation. A 397
department inquiry is not subject to the requirements of chapter 398
120. 399
4. Require an annual, notarized, sworn compliance 400
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statement from participating private schools certify ing 401
compliance with state laws, and retain such records. 402
5. Coordinate with the entities conducting the health 403
inspection for a private school to obtain copies of the 404
inspection reports. 405
6. Conduct site visits to private schools entering a 406
scholarship program for the first time. Beginning with the 2019 -407
2020 school year, a private school is not eligible to receive 408
scholarship payments until a satisfactory site visit has been 409
conducted and the school is in compliance with all other 410
requirements of this se ction. 411
7. Coordinate with the State Fire Marshal to obtain access 412
to fire inspection reports for private schools. The authority 413
conducting the fire safety inspection shall certify to the State 414
Fire Marshal that the annual inspection has been completed an d 415
that the school is in full compliance. The certification shall 416
be made electronically or by such other means as directed by the 417
State Fire Marshal. 418
8. Upon the request of a participating private school 419
authorized to administer statewide assessments, pr ovide at no 420
cost to the school the statewide assessments administered under 421
s. 1008.22 and any related materials for administering the 422
assessments. Students at a private school may be assessed using 423
the statewide assessments if the addition of those studen ts and 424
the school does not cause the state to exceed its contractual 425
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caps for the number of students tested and the number of testing 426
sites. The state shall provide the same materials and support to 427
a private school that it provides to a public school. A p rivate 428
school that chooses to administer statewide assessments under s. 429
1008.22 shall follow the requirements set forth in ss. 1008.22 430
and 1008.24, rules adopted by the State Board of Education to 431
implement those sections, and district -level testing polici es 432
established by the district school board. 433
(3) COMMISSIONER OF EDUCATION AUTHORITY AND OBLIGATIONS. —434
The Commissioner of Education: 435
(b) May deny, suspend, or revoke a private school's 436
participation in a scholarship program if the commissioner 437
determines that an owner or operator of the private school is 438
operating or has operated an educational institution in this 439
state or in another state or jurisdiction in a manner contrary 440
to the health, safety, or welfare of the public or if the owner 441
or operator has exhibited a previous pattern of failure to 442
comply with this section or specific requirements identified 443
within respective scholarship program laws. For purposes of this 444
subsection, the term "owner or operator" has the same meaning as 445
provided in paragrap h (1)(t) (1)(p). 446
Section 2. Subsection (6), paragraph (d) of subsection 447
(7), paragraph (a) of subsection (8), paragraph (c) of 448
subsection (9), and paragraphs (a) and (b) of subsection (10) of 449
section 1002.394, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 450
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1002.394 The Family Empowerment Scholarship Program. — 451
(6) SCHOLARSHIP PROHIBITIONS. —A student is not eligible 452
for a Family Empowerment Scholarship while he or she is: 453
(a) Enrolled in a public school, including, but not 454
limited to, the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind, the 455
College-Preparatory Boarding Academy, a developmental research 456
school authorized under s. 1002.32, or a charter school 457
authorized under this chapter. For purposes of this paragraph, a 458
3- or 4-year-old child who receives service s funded through the 459
Florida Education Finance Program is considered to be a student 460
enrolled in a public school; 461
(b) Enrolled in a school operating for the purpose of 462
providing educational services to youth in a Department of 463
Juvenile Justice commitment program; 464
(c) Receiving any other educational scholarship pursuant 465
to this chapter; 466
(d) Not having regular and direct contact with his or her 467
private school teachers pursuant to s. 1002.421(1)(j) s. 468
1002.421(1)(i), unless he or she is eligible pursuant to 469
paragraph (3)(b) and enrolled in the private school's 470
transition-to-work program pursuant to subsection (16) or a home 471
education program pursuant to s. 1002.41; 472
(e) Participating in a private tutoring program pursuant 473
to s. 1002.43 unless he or she i s determined eligible pursuant 474
to paragraph (3)(b); or 475
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(f) Participating in virtual instruction pursuant to s. 476
1002.455. 477
(7) SCHOOL DISTRICT OBLIGATIONS. — 478
(d) The school district in which a participating student 479
resides must notify the student and hi s or her parent about the 480
locations and times to take all statewide assessments under s. 481
1008.22 if the student is required chooses to participate in 482
such assessments. Upon the request of the department, a school 483
district shall coordinate with the departme nt to provide to a 484
participating private school the statewide assessments 485
administered under s. 1008.22 and any related materials for 486
administering the assessments. For a student who participates in 487
the Family Empowerment Scholarship Program whose parent r equests 488
that the student take the statewide assessments under s. 489
1008.22, The school district in which the student attends a 490
private school and is required to participate in statewide 491
assessments shall provide locations and times to take all 492
statewide assessments. A school district is responsible for 493
implementing test administrations at a participating private 494
school, including the: 495
1. Provision of training for private school staff on test 496
security and assessment administration procedures; 497
2. Distribution of testing materials to a private school; 498
3. Retrieval of testing materials from a private school; 499
4. Provision of the required format for a private school 500
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to submit information to the district for test administration 501
and enrollment purposes; and 502
5. Provision of any required assistance, monitoring, or 503
investigation at a private school. 504
(8) DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION OBLIGATIONS. — 505
(a) The department shall: 506
1. Publish and update, as necessary, information on the 507
department website about the Family Empowerment Scholarship 508
Program, including, but not limited to, student eligibility 509
criteria, parental responsibilities, and relevant data. 510
2. Cross-check before each distribution of funds the list 511
of participating scholarship students with the public s chool 512
enrollment lists before each scholarship payment to avoid 513
duplication. 514
3. Maintain and publish a list of nationally norm -515
referenced tests identified for purposes of satisfying the 516
testing requirement in subparagraph (9)(c)1. The tests must meet 517
industry standards of quality in accordance with state board 518
rule. 519
4. Notify eligible nonprofit scholarship -funding 520
organizations of the deadlines for submitting the verified list 521
of students determined to be eligible for a scholarship. 522
4.5. Notify each school district of a parent's 523
participation in the scholarship program for purposes of 524
paragraph (7)(f). 525
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5.6. Deny or terminate program participation upon a 526
parent's failure to comply with subsection (10). 527
6.7. Notify the parent and the organization when a 528
scholarship account is closed and program funds revert to the 529
state. 530
7.8. Notify an eligible nonprofit scholarship -funding 531
organization of any of the organization's or other 532
organization's identified students who are receiving 533
scholarships under t his chapter. 534
8.9. Maintain on its website a list of approved providers 535
as required by s. 1002.66, eligible postsecondary educational 536
institutions, eligible private schools, and eligible 537
organizations and may identify or provide links to lists of 538
other approved providers. 539
9.10. Require each organization to verify eligible 540
expenditures before the distribution of funds for any 541
expenditures made pursuant to subparagraphs (4)(b)1. and 2. 542
Review of expenditures made for services specified in 543
subparagraphs (4)(b)3.-15. may be completed after the purchase 544
is made. 545
10.11. Investigate any written complaint of a violation of 546
this section by a parent, a student, a private school, a public 547
school, a school district, an organization, a provider, or 548
another appropriate party in accordance with the process 549
established under s. 1002.421. 550
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11.12. Require quarterly reports by an organization, which 551
must include, at a minimum, the number of students participating 552
in the program; the demographics of program participants; t he 553
disability category of program participants; the matrix level of 554
services, if known; the program award amount per student; the 555
total expenditures for the purposes specified in paragraph 556
(4)(b); the types of providers of services to students; and any 557
other information deemed necessary by the department. 558
12.13. Notify eligible nonprofit scholarship funding 559
organizations that scholarships may not be awarded in a school 560
district in which the award will exceed 99 percent of the school 561
district's share of st ate funding through the Florida Education 562
Finance Program as calculated by the department. 563
(9) PRIVATE SCHOOL ELIGIBILITY AND OBLIGATIONS. —To be 564
eligible to participate in the Family Empowerment Scholarship 565
Program, a private school may be sectarian or n onsectarian and 566
must: 567
(c)1. Require students Annually administer or make 568
provision for students participating in the program in grades 3 569
through 10 to take one of the nationally norm -referenced tests 570
that are identified by the department pursuant to para graph 571
(8)(a) or to take the statewide assessments under pursuant to s. 572
1008.22. Students with disabilities for whom the physician or 573
psychologist who issued the diagnosis or the IEP team determines 574
that standardized testing is not appropriate are exempt fr om 575
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this requirement. A participating private school shall report a 576
student's scores to his or her parent. By August 15 of each 577
year, a participating private school must report the scores of 578
all participating students to a state university as described in 579
s. 1002.395(9)(e) s. 1002.395(9)(f). 580
2. Administer the statewide assessments pursuant to s. 581
1008.22 if the private school chooses to offer the statewide 582
assessments. A participating private school may choose to offer 583
and administer the statewide assessmen ts to all students who 584
attend the private school in grades 3 through 10 and must submit 585
a request in writing to the department by March 1 of each year 586
in order to administer the statewide assessments in the 587
subsequent school year. 588
589
If a private school fail s to meet the requirements of this 590
subsection or s. 1002.421, the commissioner may determine that 591
the private school is ineligible to participate in the 592
scholarship program. 593
(10) PARENT AND STUDENT RESPONSIBILITIES FOR PROGRAM 594
PARTICIPATION.— 595
(a) A parent who applies for program participation under 596
paragraph (3)(a) is exercising his or her parental option to 597
place his or her child in a private school and must: 598
1. Select the private school and apply for the admission 599
of his or her student. 600
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2. Request the scholarship by a date established by the 601
organization, in a manner that creates a written or electronic 602
record of the request and the date of receipt of the request. 603
3. Inform the applicable school district when the parent 604
withdraws his or her stude nt from a public school to attend an 605
eligible private school. 606
4. Require his or her student participating in the program 607
to remain in attendance throughout the school year unless 608
excused by the school for illness or other good cause. 609
5. Meet with the private school's principal or the 610
principal's designee to review the school's academic programs 611
and policies, customized educational programs, code of student 612
conduct, and attendance policies prior to enrollment. 613
6. Require that the student participating in the 614
scholarship program takes the norm-referenced assessment offered 615
by the private school. The parent may also choose to have the 616
student participate in the statewide assessments pursuant to 617
paragraph (9)(c) (7)(d). If the parent requests that the stud ent 618
participating in the program take all statewide assessments 619
required pursuant to s. 1008.22, The parent is responsible for 620
transporting the student to the assessment site designated by 621
the school district. 622
7. Restrictively endorse the warrant, issued in the name 623
of the parent pursuant to subparagraph (12)(a)6., to the private 624
school for deposit into the private school's account. The parent 625
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may not designate any entity or individual associated with the 626
participating private school as the parent's attor ney in fact to 627
endorse a scholarship warrant. 628
(b) A parent who applies for program participation under 629
paragraph (3)(b) is exercising his or her parental option to 630
determine the appropriate placement or the services that best 631
meet the needs of his or her child and must: 632
1. Apply to an eligible nonprofit scholarship -funding 633
organization to participate in the program by a date set by the 634
organization. The request must be communicated directly to the 635
organization in a manner that creates a written or elect ronic 636
record of the request and the date of receipt of the request. 637
2. Sign an agreement with the organization and annually 638
submit a sworn compliance statement to the organization to 639
satisfy or maintain program eligibility, including eligibility 640
to receive and spend program payments by: 641
a. Affirming that the student is enrolled in a program 642
that meets regular school attendance requirements as provided in 643
s. 1003.01(13)(b), (c), or (d). 644
b. Affirming that the program funds are used only for 645
authorized purposes serving the student's educational needs, as 646
described in paragraph (4)(b); that any prepaid college plan or 647
college savings plan funds contributed pursuant to subparagraph 648
(4)(b)6. will not be transferred to another beneficiary while 649
the plan contains funds contributed pursuant to this section; 650
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and that they will not receive a payment, refund, or rebate of 651
any funds provided under this section. 652
c. Affirming that the parent is respo nsible for all 653
eligible expenses in excess of the amount of the scholarship and 654
for the education of his or her student by, as applicable: 655
(I) Requiring the student to participate in the statewide 656
assessments take an assessment in accordance with paragraph 657
(9)(c); 658
(II) Providing an annual evaluation in accordance with s. 659
1002.41(1)(f); or 660
(III) Requiring the child to take any preassessments and 661
postassessments selected by the provider if the child is 4 years 662
of age and is enrolled in a program provided by an eligible 663
Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program provider. A student 664
with disabilities for whom the physician or psychologist who 665
issued the diagnosis or the IEP team determines that a 666
preassessment and postassessment is not appropriate is exempt 667
from this requirement. A participating provider shall report a 668
student's scores to the parent. 669
d. Affirming that the student remains in good standing 670
with the provider or school if those options are selected by the 671
parent. 672
e. Enrolling his or her child in a program from a 673
Voluntary Prekindergarten Education Program provider authorized 674
under s. 1002.55, a school readiness provider authorized under 675
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s. 1002.88, or an eligible private school if either option is 676
selected by the parent. 677
f. Renewing participation in the program each year. A 678
student whose participation in the program is not renewed may 679
continue to spend scholarship funds that are in his or her 680
account from prior years unless the account must be closed 681
pursuant to subparagraph (5)(b)3. Notwithstanding any changes to 682
the student's IEP, a student who was previously eligible for 683
participation in the program shall remain eligible to apply for 684
renewal. However, for a high -risk child to continue to 685
participate in the prog ram in the school year after he or she 686
reaches 6 years of age, the child's application for renewal of 687
program participation must contain documentation that the child 688
has a disability defined in paragraph (2)(d) other than high -689
risk status. 690
g. Procuring the services necessary to educate the 691
student. If a parent does not procure the necessary educational 692
services for the student and the student's account has been 693
inactive for 2 consecutive fiscal years, the student is 694
ineligible for additional scholarship p ayments until the 695
scholarship funding organization verifies that expenditures from 696
the account have occurred. When the student receives a 697
scholarship, the district school board is not obligated to 698
provide the student with a free appropriate public educatio n. 699
For purposes of s. 1003.57 and the Individuals with Disabilities 700
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in Education Act, a participating student has only those rights 701
that apply to all other unilaterally parentally placed students, 702
except that, when requested by the parent, school district 703
personnel must develop an IEP or matrix level of services. 704
Section 3. Paragraphs (n) and (o) of subsection (6), 705
paragraph (e) of subsection (7), paragraph (b) of subsection 706
(8), and paragraphs (e) and (f) of subsection (9) of section 707
1002.395, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 708
1002.395 Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program. — 709
(6) OBLIGATIONS OF ELIGIBLE NONPROFIT SCHOLARSHIP -FUNDING 710
ORGANIZATIONS.—An eligible nonprofit scholarship -funding 711
organization: 712
(n) Must prepare and submit quarterly re ports to the 713
Department of Education pursuant to paragraph (9)(h) (9)(i). In 714
addition, an eligible nonprofit scholarship -funding organization 715
must submit in a timely manner any information requested by the 716
Department of Education relating to the scholarshi p program. 717
(o)1.a. Must participate in the joint development of 718
agreed-upon procedures during the 2009 -2010 state fiscal year. 719
The agreed-upon procedures must uniformly apply to all private 720
schools and must determine, at a minimum, whether the private 721
school has been verified as eligible by the Department of 722
Education under s. 1002.421; has an adequate accounting system, 723
system of financial controls, and process for deposit and 724
classification of scholarship funds; and has properly expended 725
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scholarship funds for education-related expenses. During the 726
development of the procedures, the participating scholarship -727
funding organizations shall specify guidelines governing the 728
materiality of exceptions that may be found during the 729
accountant's performance of the p rocedures. The procedures and 730
guidelines shall be provided to private schools and the 731
Commissioner of Education by March 15, 2011. 732
b. Must participate in a joint review of the agreed -upon 733
procedures and guidelines developed under sub -subparagraph a., 734
by February of each biennium, if the scholarship -funding 735
organization provided more than $250,000 in scholarship funds to 736
an eligible private school under this chapter during the state 737
fiscal year preceding the biennial review. If the procedures and 738
guidelines are revised, the revisions must be provided to 739
private schools and the Commissioner of Education by March 15 of 740
the year in which the revisions were completed. The revised 741
agreed-upon procedures shall take effect the subsequent school 742
year. For the 2018-2019 school year only, the joint review of 743
the agreed-upon procedures must be completed and the revisions 744
submitted to the commissioner no later than September 15, 2018. 745
The revised procedures are applicable to the 2018 -2019 school 746
year. 747
c. Must monitor the compliance of a private school with s. 748
1002.421(1)(u) s. 1002.421(1)(q) if the scholarship-funding 749
organization provided the majority of the scholarship funding to 750
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the school. For each private school subject to s. 1002.421(1)(u) 751
s. 1002.421(1)(q), the appropriate scholarship -funding 752
organization shall annually notify the Commissioner of Education 753
by October 30 of: 754
(I) A private school's failure to submit a report required 755
under s. 1002.421(1)(u) s. 1002.421(1)(q); or 756
(II) Any material exceptions set forth in the report 757
required under s. 1002.421(1)(u) s. 1002.421(1)(q). 758
2. Must seek input from the accrediting associations that 759
are members of the Florida Association of Academic Nonpublic 760
Schools and the Department of Education when jointly developin g 761
the agreed-upon procedures and guidelines under sub -subparagraph 762
1.a. and conducting a review of those procedures and guidelines 763
under sub-subparagraph 1.b. 764
765
Information and documentation provided to the Department of 766
Education and the Auditor General re lating to the identity of a 767
taxpayer that provides an eligible contribution under this 768
section shall remain confidential at all times in accordance 769
with s. 213.053. 770
(7) PARENT AND STUDENT RESPONSIBILITIES FOR PROGRAM 771
PARTICIPATION.— 772
(e) The parent shal l require ensure that the student 773
participating in the scholarship program takes the norm-774
referenced assessment offered by the private school. The parent 775
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may also choose to have the student participate in the statewide 776
assessments pursuant to s. 1008.22. I f the parent requests that 777
the student participating in the scholarship program take 778
statewide assessments pursuant to s. 1008.22 and the private 779
school has not chosen to offer and administer the statewide 780
assessments, the parent is responsible for transpo rting the 781
student to the assessment site designated by the school 782
district. 783
(8) PRIVATE SCHOOL ELIGIBILITY AND OBLIGATIONS. —An 784
eligible private school may be sectarian or nonsectarian and 785
must: 786
(b)1. Require students to participate in Annually 787
administer or make provision for students participating in the 788
scholarship program in grades 3 through 10 to take one of the 789
nationally norm-referenced tests identified by the Department of 790
Education or the statewide assessments pursuant to s. 1008.22. 791
Students with disabilities for whom the physician or 792
psychologist who issued the diagnosis or the individual 793
education plan team determines that standardized testing is not 794
appropriate are exempt from this requirement. A participating 795
private school must report a stu dent's scores to the parent. A 796
participating private school must annually report by August 15 797
the scores of all participating students to a state university 798
described in paragraph (9)(e) (9)(f). 799
2. Administer the statewide assessments pursuant to s. 800
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1008.22 if a private school chooses to offer the statewide 801
assessments. A participating private school may choose to offer 802
and administer the statewide assessments to all students who 803
attend the private school in grades 3 through 10 and must submit 804
a request in writing to the Department of Education by March 1 805
of each year in order to administer the statewide assessments in 806
the subsequent school year. 807
808
If a private school fails to meet the requirements of this 809
subsection or s. 1002.421, the commissioner may det ermine that 810
the private school is ineligible to participate in the 811
scholarship program. 812
(9) DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION OBLIGATIONS. —The Department of 813
Education shall: 814
(e) Maintain a list of nationally norm -referenced tests 815
identified for purposes of satisfying the testing requirement in 816
subparagraph (8)(b)1. The tests must meet industry standards of 817
quality in accordance with State Board of Education rule. 818
(f) Issue a project grant award to a state university, to 819
which participating private schools must report the scores of 820
participating students on the nationally norm-referenced tests 821
or the statewide assessments administered by the private school 822
in grades 3 through 10. The project term is 2 years, and the 823
amount of the project is up to $250,000 pe r year. The project 824
grant award must be reissued in 2 -year intervals in accordance 825
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with this paragraph. 826
1. The state university must annually report to the 827
Department of Education on the student performance of 828
participating students: 829
a. On a statewide basis. The report shall also include, to 830
the extent possible, a comparison of scholarship students' 831
performance to the statewide student performance of public 832
school students with socioeconomic backgrounds similar to those 833
of students participating in the scholarship program. To 834
minimize costs and reduce time required for the state 835
university's analysis and evaluation, the Department of 836
Education shall coordinate with the state university to provide 837
data to the state university in order to conduct analyses of 838
matched students from public school assessment data and 839
calculate control group student performance using an agreed -upon 840
methodology with the state university; and 841
b. On an individual school basis. The annual report must 842
include student performance fo r each participating private 843
school in which at least 51 percent of the total enrolled 844
students in the private school participated in the Florida Tax 845
Credit Scholarship Program in the prior school year. The report 846
shall be according to each participating p rivate school, and for 847
participating students, in which there are at least 30 848
participating students who have scores for tests administered. 849
If the state university determines that the 30 -participating-850
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student cell size may be reduced without disclosing pe rsonally 851
identifiable information, as described in 34 C.F.R. s. 99.12, of 852
a participating student, the state university may reduce the 853
participating-student cell size, but the cell size must not be 854
reduced to less than 10 participating students. The depart ment 855
shall provide each private school's prior school year's student 856
enrollment information to the state university no later than 857
June 15 of each year, or as requested by the state university. 858
2. The sharing and reporting of student performance data 859
under this paragraph must be in accordance with requirements of 860
ss. 1002.22 and 1002.221 and 20 U.S.C. s. 1232g, the Family 861
Educational Rights and Privacy Act, and the applicable rules and 862
regulations issued pursuant thereto, and shall be for the sole 863
purpose of creating the annual report required by subparagraph 864
1. All parties must preserve the confidentiality of such 865
information as required by law. The annual report must not 866
disaggregate data to a level that will identify individual 867
participating schools, exc ept as required under sub -subparagraph 868
1.b., or disclose the academic level of individual students. 869
3. The annual report required by subparagraph 1. shall be 870
published by the Department of Education on its website. 871
Section 4. Paragraph (b) of subsect ion (6), paragraph (b) 872
of subsection (7), paragraph (b) of subsection (8), paragraph 873
(f) of subsection (9), and paragraph (e) of subsection (10) of 874
section 1002.40, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 875
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1002.40 The Hope Scholarship Program. — 876
(6) SCHOOL DISTRICT OBLIGATIONS; PARENTAL OPTIONS. — 877
(b) For each student participating in the program in an 878
eligible private school who chooses to participate in the 879
statewide assessments under s. 1008.22 or the Florida Alternate 880
Assessment, the school district i n which the student resides 881
must notify the student and his or her parent about the 882
locations and times to take all statewide assessments. 883
(7) PRIVATE SCHOOL ELIGIBILITY AND OBLIGATIONS. —An 884
eligible private school may be sectarian or nonsectarian and 885
shall: 886
(b)1. Require students to participate in Annually 887
administer or make provision for students participating in the 888
program in grades 3 through 10 to take one of the nationally 889
norm-referenced tests identified by the department or the 890
statewide assessments pursuant to s. 1008.22. Students with 891
disabilities for whom the physician or psychologist who issued 892
the diagnosis or the individual education plan team determines 893
that standardized testing is not appropriate are exempt from 894
this requirement. A partici pating private school shall report a 895
student's scores to his or her parent. 896
2. Administer the statewide assessments pursuant to s. 897
1008.22 if a private school chooses to offer the statewide 898
assessments. A participating private school may choose to offer 899
and administer the statewide assessments to all students who 900
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attend the private school in grades 3 through 10 and must submit 901
a request in writing to the department by March 1 of each year 902
in order to administer the statewide assessments in the 903
subsequent school year. 904
905
If a private school fails to meet the requirements of this 906
subsection or s. 1002.421, the commissioner may determine that 907
the private school is ineligible to participate in the program. 908
(8) DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION OBLIGATIONS. —The department 909
shall: 910
(b) Maintain a list of nationally norm -referenced tests 911
identified for purposes of satisfying the testing requirement in 912
paragraph (9)(f). The tests must meet industry standards of 913
quality in accordance with State Board of Education rule. 914
(9) PARENT AND STUDENT RESPONSIBILITIES FOR PROGRAM 915
PARTICIPATION.—A parent who applies for a Hope scholarship is 916
exercising his or her parental option to place his or her 917
student in an eligible private school. 918
(f) The parent must ensure that the student par ticipating 919
in the program participates takes the norm-referenced assessment 920
offered by the private school. The parent may also choose to 921
have the student participate in the statewide assessments 922
pursuant to s. 1008.22. If the parent requests that the stude nt 923
take the statewide assessments pursuant to s. 1008.22 and the 924
private school has not chosen to offer and administer the 925
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statewide assessments, the parent is responsible for 926
transporting the student to the assessment site designated by 927
the school district. 928
(10) OBLIGATIONS OF ELIGIBLE NONPROFIT SCHOLARSHIP -FUNDING 929
ORGANIZATIONS.—An eligible nonprofit scholarship -funding 930
organization may establish scholarships for eligible students 931
by: 932
(e) Preparing and submitting quarterly reports to the 933
department pursuant to paragraph (8)(b) (8)(c). In addition, an 934
eligible nonprofit scholarship -funding organization must submit 935
in a timely manner any information requested by the department 936
relating to the program. 937
Section 5. Subsection (2), paragraphs (a) and (b) of 938
subsection (3), and subsection (4) of section 1008.34, Florida 939
Statutes, are amended to read: 940
1008.34 School grading system; school report cards; 941
district grade.— 942
(2) SCHOOL GRADES.—Schools, including private schools that 943
accept scholarship student s who participate in a state 944
scholarship program under chapter 1002, shall be graded using 945
one of the following grades, defined according to rules of the 946
State Board of Education: 947
(a) "A," schools making excellent progress. 948
(b) "B," schools making abov e average progress. 949
(c) "C," schools making satisfactory progress. 950
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(d) "D," schools making less than satisfactory progress. 951
(e) "F," schools failing to make adequate progress. 952
953
Each school, other than a private school, which that earns a 954
grade of "A" or improves at least two letter grades may have 955
greater authority over the allocation of the school's total 956
budget generated from the FEFP, state categoricals, lottery 957
funds, grants, and local funds. 958
(3) DESIGNATION OF SCHOOL GRADES .— 959
(a) Each school, including private schools that accept 960
scholarship students who participate in a state scholarship 961
program under chapter 1002, must assess at least 95 percent of 962
its eligible students, except as provided under s. 1008.341 for 963
alternative schools. Each school shall receive a school grade 964
based on the school's performance on the components listed in 965
subparagraphs (b)1. and 2. If a school does not have at least 10 966
students with complete data for one or more of the components 967
listed in subparagraphs (b)1. and 2., those components may not 968
be used in calculating the school's grade. 969
1. An alternative school may choose to receive a school 970
grade under this section or a school improvement rating under s. 971
1008.341. For charter schools that meet t he definition of an 972
alternative school pursuant to State Board of Education rule, 973
the decision to receive a school grade is the decision of the 974
charter school governing board. 975
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2. A school that serves any combination of students in 976
kindergarten through gr ade 3 that does not receive a school 977
grade because its students are not tested and included in the 978
school grading system shall receive the school grade designation 979
of a K-3 feeder pattern school identified by the Department of 980
Education and verified by the school district. A school feeder 981
pattern exists if a majority of the students in the school 982
serving a combination of students in kindergarten through grade 983
3 are scheduled to be assigned to the graded school. 984
3. If a collocated school does not earn a sc hool grade or 985
school improvement rating for the performance of its students, 986
the student performance data of all schools operating at the 987
same facility must be aggregated to develop a school grade that 988
will be assigned to all schools at that location. A co llocated 989
school is a school that has its own unique master school 990
identification number, provides for the education of each of its 991
enrolled students, and operates at the same facility as another 992
school that has its own unique master school identification 993
number and provides for the education of each of its enrolled 994
students. 995
(b)1. Beginning with the 2014 -2015 school year, A school's 996
grade shall be based on the following components, each worth 100 997
points: 998
a. The percentage of eligible students passing st atewide, 999
standardized assessments in English Language Arts under s. 1000
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1008.22(3). 1001
b. The percentage of eligible students passing statewide, 1002
standardized assessments in mathematics under s. 1008.22(3). 1003
c. The percentage of eligible students passing statew ide, 1004
standardized assessments in science under s. 1008.22(3). 1005
d. The percentage of eligible students passing statewide, 1006
standardized assessments in social studies under s. 1008.22(3). 1007
e. The percentage of eligible students who make Learning 1008
Gains in English Language Arts as measured by statewide, 1009
standardized assessments administered under s. 1008.22(3). 1010
f. The percentage of eligible students who make Learning 1011
Gains in mathematics as measured by statewide, standardized 1012
assessments administered under s . 1008.22(3). 1013
g. The percentage of eligible students in the lowest 25 1014
percent in English Language Arts, as identified by prior year 1015
performance on statewide, standardized assessments, who make 1016
Learning Gains as measured by statewide, standardized English 1017
Language Arts assessments administered under s. 1008.22(3). 1018
h. The percentage of eligible students in the lowest 25 1019
percent in mathematics, as identified by prior year performance 1020
on statewide, standardized assessments, who make Learning Gains 1021
as measured by statewide, standardized Mathematics assessments 1022
administered under s. 1008.22(3). 1023
i. For schools comprised of middle grades 6 through 8 or 1024
grades 7 and 8, the percentage of eligible students passing high 1025
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school level statewide, standardized end -of-course assessments 1026
or attaining national industry certifications identified in the 1027
CAPE Industry Certification Funding List pursuant to state board 1028
rule. 1029
1030
In calculating Learning Gains for the components listed in sub -1031
subparagraphs e.-h., the State Board o f Education shall require 1032
that learning growth toward achievement levels 3, 4, and 5 is 1033
demonstrated by students who scored below each of those levels 1034
in the prior year. In calculating the components in sub -1035
subparagraphs a.-d., the state board shall includ e the 1036
performance of English language learners only if they have been 1037
enrolled in a school in the United States for more than 2 years. 1038
2. For a school comprised of grades 9, 10, 11, and 12, or 1039
grades 10, 11, and 12, the school's grade shall also be based on 1040
the following components, each worth 100 points: 1041
a. The 4-year high school graduation rate of the school as 1042
defined by state board rule. 1043
b. The percentage of students who were eligible to earn 1044
college and career credit through College Board Advance d 1045
Placement examinations, International Baccalaureate 1046
examinations, dual enrollment courses, including career dual 1047
enrollment courses resulting in the completion of 300 or more 1048
clock hours during high school which are approved by the state 1049
board as meeting the requirements of s. 1007.271, or Advanced 1050
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International Certificate of Education examinations; who, at any 1051
time during high school, earned national industry certification 1052
identified in the CAPE Industry Certification Funding List, 1053
pursuant to rules ado pted by the state board; or, beginning with 1054
the 2022-2023 school year, who earned an Armed Services 1055
Qualification Test score that falls within Category II or higher 1056
on the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery and earned a 1057
minimum of two credits in Ju nior Reserve Officers' Training 1058
Corps courses from the same branch of the United States Armed 1059
Forces. 1060
(4) SCHOOL REPORT CARD. —The Department of Education shall 1061
annually develop, in collaboration with the school districts and 1062
private schools that accept s cholarship students who participate 1063
in a state scholarship program under chapter 1002 , a school 1064
report card to be provided by the school district or private 1065
school that accepts scholarship students who participate in a 1066
state scholarship program under chapt er 1002, as applicable, to 1067
parents within the district. The report card shall include the 1068
school's grade; student performance in English Language Arts, 1069
mathematics, science, and social studies; information regarding 1070
school improvement; an explanation of sc hool performance as 1071
evaluated by the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act 1072
(ESEA), 20 U.S.C. ss. 6301 et seq.; and indicators of return on 1073
investment. Each school's report card shall be published 1074
annually by the department on its website based upo n the most 1075
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recent data available. 1076
Section 6. Present subsection (5) of section 1013.37, 1077
Florida Statutes, is redesignated as subsection (6), and a new 1078
subsection (5) is added to that section, to read: 1079
1013.37 State uniform building code for public educational 1080
facilities construction. — 1081
(5) PRIVATE SCHOOL FACILITIES. —Private schools shall 1082
comply with the State Requirements for Educational Facilities of 1083
the Florida Building Code adopted pursuant to this sectio n. A 1084
local governing authority may not adopt or impose any local 1085
building requirements or site -development restrictions, such as 1086
parking and site-size criteria, student enrollment, and occupant 1087
load, which are addressed by and more stringent than those fou nd 1088
in the State Requirements for Educational Facilities of the 1089
Florida Building Code. A local governing authority shall treat 1090
private schools equitably with regard to requirements, 1091
restrictions, and site -planning processes imposed upon public 1092
schools. The agency having jurisdiction for inspection of a 1093
facility and issuance of a certificate of occupancy or use is 1094
the local municipality or, if the private school is in an 1095
unincorporated area, the county governing authority. If an 1096
official or employee of the lo cal governing authority refuses to 1097
comply with this subsection, the aggrieved school or entity has 1098
an immediate right to bring an action in circuit court to 1099
enforce its rights by injunction. An aggrieved party that 1100
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receives injunctive relief may be awarded attorney fees and 1101
court costs. 1102
Section 7. This act shall take effect July 1, 2022. 1103